We have been reporting on comments made by Sergei Lavrov to the media this morning.
After telling reporters that a truce with Ukraine “isn’t going to get you anywhere” (see post at 8:52 a.m.), he said that if the U.S. is serious about improving relations, the first He said action must be taken.
President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20, has spoken of his ability to strike a deal and consistently insisted that he can quickly end the war in Ukraine, but he has not said how.
And Russia’s foreign minister seems to be signaling that the Kremlin is at least willing to listen.
“If the signal coming from the new team in Washington to restore the dialogue that Washington interrupted after the start of the special military operation (the war that Russia started in Ukraine) is serious, then of course we will respond to it.” Lavrov said.
“But the Americans have broken off the dialogue, so they should be the first to act.”
possibility of ceasefire
Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s pick to be special envoy to Ukraine, told Fox News last week that the two countries were ready for peace talks.
Reuters reported last month that President Vladimir Putin was open to discussing a ceasefire but ruled out any major territorial concessions and insisted Kiev would abandon its ambitions to join NATO.
Russia occupies about one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory. Here is a map showing what it looks like.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy acknowledged last week that Ukraine cannot remove Russian troops from the land it occupies in the country’s east and Crimea.
Kiev will never recognize Russian rule, but has said diplomacy is the only option to force Putin to withdraw troops.
These comments, published in the French newspaper Le Parisien, suggest that a cease-fire could be reached if Ukrainian territory is brought “under the umbrella of NATO” and that there will be time to negotiate the return of the remaining territory later. It was issued after he said that he could give.
You can read more about Mr. Zelenskiy’s comments here…
